UF IFAS Charlotte County Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program

05/31/2025

Wildflower Sale | June 1st-22nd
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National Pollinator Week takes place June 16th-22nd this year. One of the best ways to support pollinators it to increase their available resources i.e. plant more plants! Somewhere between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need help with pollination which means supporting the hardworking bees, birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, and other small mammals who pollinate. Without them, we'd lose 1 in 3 bites of food.

To honor the crucial role of pollinators, we're having a Buy One, Get One Free wildflower sale on select species:

- Dune Sunflower (Helianthus debilis) https://sandhillsnativenursery.com/product/dune-sunflower/
- Blanketflower (Gailliardia pulchella) https://sandhillsnativenursery.com/product/blanket-flower/
- Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) https://sandhillsnativenursery.com/product/prairie-coneflower/
- Giant Ironweed (Veronica gigantea) https://sandhillsnativenursery.com/product/giant-ironweed/
- Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia lanciniata) https://sandhillsnativenursery.com/product/cutleaf-coneflower/

Want to learn more about National Pollinator Week? Visit their website here: https://pollinator.org/pollinator-week

05/23/2025

𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒: A Fully Online Self-Paced Course For Any Level of Gardener!

Many pollinators are in peril, but you can help support them through easy and simple gardening practices in any space, small or large!

Discover how to support bees and butterflies through smart gardening practices:
🐝 Bee & butterfly diversity, biology, and ID
🌼 Garden design and maintenance tips
🌺 Best Florida plants for pollinators

Certificate of completion provided.

Register by June 30th, 2025 at:
https://ifas-pollinators.catalog.instructure.com/courses/gardening-for-pollinators-summer-2025

You will have 45 days to complete the course once you enroll

03/11/2025

https://els2025.eventbrite.com
There is still time to sign up for our upcoming Edible Landscaping Symposium this weekend, Saturday, March 15.

Imagine stepping outside to pick fresh fruits and vegetables right from your own yard!

01/17/2025

Home and Garden Show this weekend January 18 & 19 at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center.

10/30/2024

🕷️🕸️🎃

I don’t always ch ch ch ch…but when I do, I ah ah ah ah!
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Who’s up for some camping? The Jewel Box Spider, also known as a Spiny Orb-weaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis), is a diminutive spiny spider that can resemble a tiny, jewel-encrusted box. It may also resemble a hockey mask wearing stalker who likes to take long walks near crystal lakes. Don’t worry. These spiders mainly prey on whiteflies, moths, unsuspecting teenagers, and beetles.

What else is crawling around out there? Find out at https://www.nps.gov/foma/learn/nature/insects.htm

Image: Skulltula? A Spiny Orb-weaver, with distinct markings, rests quietly in its web at Fort Matanzas National Monument, Florida. NPS/Linda Chandler⁣

10/29/2024

10/25/2024

There are still a few spaces left at our herb growing class for this Tuesday, October 29th at 12:30pm. It will be held at Centennial Park in Port Charlotte. Click below for more information and to register.

Discover the Joy of Growing Herbs!

10/25/2024

10/24/2024

👀👀👀

Dead man’s fingers 🧟 Spooky natural history

Florida’s biodiverse ecosystems harbor some gruesome discoveries. Explore with us ... if you dare!

Species: Dead man’s fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)

Like an omen, dead man’s fingers grow at the base of dead and dying plants. Often bent and swollen, as if afflicted with arthritis, the fungal growths bear an uncanny resemblance to their namesake. When younger fungal bodies appear in the spring, they even produce a layer of pale, sometimes blue, asexual spores on their surface that often resemble fingernails.

This wood-rotting fungus grows on trees and shrubs, where it breaks down glucan, a chain of carbohydrates that binds the cell walls in wood together. After the fungus has made its meal of the rotting wood, all that’s left of the stump is a soft mass of cellulose and lignin that insects or other fungi can consume.

Dead man’s fingers grow throughout eastern North America, including Florida. It often appears on American elm, pear and plum trees and darkens until it is mature in summer or fall. Each of its “fingers” has a tiny hole for releasing sexual spores. Removing the above-ground portion of the fungus can reduce the spread of the spores but does nothing to slow the decomposition happening in the soil.

Explore more spooky natural history: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/spooky-natural-history/

10/24/2024

Wow, did we have a great time at the Master Gardener Conference in Orlando the last few days! Not only was it educational, well-put together, and full of great people, Charlotte County also came home with not 1, not 2, but SEVEN awards and recognitions!

1. Congratulations to Joan Schnieder for winning the Outstanding Master Gardener Volunteer Award of Excellence

2. The Charlotte County MGV Team won 2nd Place in the Plant ID Contest!

3. Phil & Wendy Sollecito won the 2024 FFL Mature Landscape Award

4. Phil & Wendy Sollecito also won the 2024 FFL Edible Landscape Award

5. Charlotte County won the FFL Outstanding Educational Campaign Award for our Rain Barrel Program

6. Charlotte County won the FFL Outstanding Agent & MGV Collaboration for our Rain Barrel Program

7. And last, but certainly not least MGV Jane Schurr was recognized for 20 years as a Master Gardener Volunteer

We have the BEST volunteers and we are so grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for helping to educate our community and for all the time and effort you put in to helping make our county SHINE! 🤩🤩🤩